His research focuses on biorecognition of macromolecules, bioconjugate chemistry, drug delivery systems, self-assembled biomaterials, and drug-free macromolecular therapeutics.

During his time in graduate school, he was mentored by professors Drahoslav Lim and Otto Wichterle, who invented hydrogels and created soft contact lenses.

Academia Prior to his postdoctoral fellowship, Kopeček served as the research scientific officer for the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences from 1965 to 1967.

He then served in the same capacity after his postdoctoral fellowship at the National Research Council of Canada until 1972, when he became the head of the Laboratory of Medical Polymers at the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry from 1972 to 1980.

Early studies in Prague laboratory Kopeček’s graduate research focused on the kinetics of crosslinking polymerization of hydrophilic esters of methacrylic acid and structural characterization of ensuing hydrogels.

Kopeček and coworkers formulated and implemented a comprehensive approach to the problems designing macromolecular conjugates to modulate the pharmacokinetics and tissue localization of therapeutic agents.

Newly designed backbone degradable HPMA copolymer – anticancer drug conjugates possess long-circulating pharmacokinetics and enhanced antitumor activities, while keeping excellent biocompatibility.

The conjugates induce immunogenic cell death in murine cancer models and convert “cold” tumors to “hot” ones that are susceptible to PD-L1 degradation immunotherapy.

Original design of a new multivalent PD-L1 antagonist not only acts as a traditional checkpoint inhibitor, but mediates the surface crosslinking of PD-L1, biases its subcellular fate to lysosomes for degradation, and exhibits persistent suppression.

In collaboration with the University of Utah Department of Radiology we are developing conjugates suitable for the treatment of traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer disease.

OBN binds within one tetramer with the conformation compatible with homotypic adhesion regions, leading to actin cytoskeleton remodeling and lysosome disruption.